Hatter
by sweetheartgrl13
Summary: Takes place immediately after the movie ends. Halice. might change title
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone! Well it's been quite a while don't you think. Yes i know that a lot of you are just starving for some new chapters (at least i hope you are...) but i'm kinda taking a break from some of those stories. Just to let you know, I do intend on continuing A Shot in the Dark, and The Dummy's Guide to Love.

Now to this story! I recently bought the SYFY version of Alice in Wonderland called "Alice" and i felt compelled to write a fanfiction for it one: because of the massive gaping hole it left for minds such as mine to fill in what happens next and two: THE GUY WHO PLAYS HATTER (Andrew Lee Potts) IS REALLY UBER HOTT!!! Please watch to confirm. So that's that. Haha. Hope you like it! Please review! I live off of your thoughts! (not really. Actually i could really go for some pizza right now...) Thanks for reading! Luvs, Sweetheartgrl13!

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"Hatter!"

He looked up as Alice dashed forward and flung her arms around his neck. Hatter held her close and let out a happy sigh.

"Finally."

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you," Alice said. Her heart was pounding with surprise and excitement from seeing Hatter and feeling his comfortable touch. Alice stepped back to look at Hatter. He looked so normal. His hair wasn't in its usual organized mess that curled up around the brim of a well-worn hat. Alice wouldn't have been able to recognize him if it weren't for his deep chocolate eyes, his warm, joking smile and the hat he carried in his hand.

Hatter seemed to be reassuring himself that Alice was really there and in his arms. He gazed at her for a moment and then pulled Alice towards him and kissed her. Alice had been waiting for Hatter to kiss her ever since Jack has interrupted them in the forest. She had searched for any sign of affection from him to hold on to the thought that he just might have liked her.

Hatter paused and rested his forehead against Alice's.

"I missed you." Alice smiled and pulled Hatter back into their kiss.

"Ahem?" Alice and Hatter broke away form each other but still held each other's hands. "What is going on here? Where's Jack? How do you know who this man is?" asked Alice's mother. Alice floundered for a moment.

Umm. I know I have a lot to explain but can you just wait for five more minutes?" Alice asked. Carol stared at Hatter and Alice for a couple seconds and gave in. She walked closer to Alice and sighed.

"Fine. But I want some answers. Real ones too," She said then walked down the hall to her room. Alice watched her go and wondered what she could tell her.

"Alice?" Hatter asked. Alice turned back to see him nervously smiling.

"Oh, Hatter. I can't believe you're here," she whispered.

"How could you expect me to stay away when I didn't get a proper good bye," Hatter whispered. Alice froze and felt her heart stop.

"You aren't leaving are you? Please don't leave," Alice muttered. Hatter smiled and pushed a loose strand of hair out of her face.

"What kind of person would I be if I left you? Besides I couldn't leave you even on the off chance that I did want to leave," Hatter said gently. Alice smiled and hugged hatter.

"What do I tell my mom? How do I explain all this?" Alice asked turning serious.

"How about the truth?" he asked. Alice looked straight into Hatter's eyes, trying to tell if he was joking or not.

"Really?" she asked. Hatter shrugged.

"Why not?" he asked. Alice shook her head.

"She would never believe it."

"She would if she saw it with her own eyes."

"You can't be serious!" Alice hissed, "She could go into shock or have a heart attack or have me committed!"

"Hush, Alice," Hatter whispered pulling her farther from the hall, "Look, it's the only good way to explain this without lying and I'm sure you don't want to have to lie to your mother." Alice looked down at the heavily scratched wooden floors and contemplated the idea.

"You're right. I don't see a better way to do this," she sighed. Hatter hugged her tighter and held her there, comforting her.

"Don't worry. It's all going to work out fine. We'll tell her slowly. She'll believe you."

"How do you know?"

"Because I would believe you if you said that your world is round," he said grinning. Alice laughed.

"Hatter, our world _is_ round."

Hatter laughed, "You see what I mean? I believe you completely."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it." Hatter smiled and took Alice's hand. He paused for a second and then pulled her arm up for him to see.

"What are you doing?" Hatter pushed her sleeve back and gave Alice a confused look.

"Your mark is gone?" Alice looked and saw that Hatter was right. The leafy, green mark that had been on her arm in Wonderland was now gone.

"How is that possible?" Alice asked. Hatter pushed back the sleeve on her other arm to make sure it hadn't jumped arms. Her other arm was bare too.

"I don't know. I've never heard of this happening. Well to be exact, I've never heard of an Oyster going home either but you get the point." Alice studied both of her arms and was surprised to find that she missed the mark a little bit.

"Well at least that's one less hardly-believable thing that I have to explain," Alice said. Hatter nodded.

"Let's go see how good your mother's imagination is."

"One last thing."

"Yes?"

"David?"

"Ah yes. I was wondering when you would ask me about that.

"Is David your real name?"

"Yeah. Nobody calls me that anymore though. I actually despise the name. Hatter just seems more fitting don't you think?"

"It does fit your personality very well."

"Well then, now that we have that out of the way, shall we speak with your mother?"

"I guess there's no better time than now."

Alice walked down the hall with hatter and found her mom sitting in her plush red reading chair with the book _Through the Looking Glass_ open on her lap. Alice looked at Hatter, attempting not to laugh. He smiled back at her.

"Mom?" Alice asked. Carol looked up from her book. "Can we talk to you out here?" Carol nodded and set the book up on the small bookshelf next to the chair. The three walked back out to the main part of the apartment and sat down at the table. Hatter sat next to Alice and Carol sat across from them.

"Okay mom. Here's the deal." Alice looked to hatter for confidence, "That hour that I was gone was a lot longer than an hour for me."

"About four days to be exact," Hatter added.

"What do you mean?" asked Carol. Alice hesitated.

"Mom. I really need you to trust me. I've never lied to you before and I don't want to lie now for the sake of simplicity." Carol stared at Alice for a couple seconds and nodded.

"Okay, Alice. Somehow I get the feeling that you don't think I'll believe you and I don't want you to think that. Tell me everything and I'll try my hardest to keep up." Alice smiled.

"That's all I need."

"You know, maybe we should just bring her there now while her mind is open to the possibilities," Hatter suggested quietly.

"Maybe that's a better idea," Alice agreed, "Mom, will you please come with us?" Carol raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth to question Alice but stopped.

"I guess so. It can't be that bad." Alice and Hatter looked at each other wondering what Carol's definition of bad was.

"I'll go ahead and make sure Jack's people know we're coming," Hatter said standing up.

"Good idea," Alice said, "We'll be right behind you."

"Jack? Your Jack?" Carol asked Alice.

"He's not _my _Jack anymore, mom. But yes. The same Jack will be where we're going," Alice explained. Carol frowned, probably trying to figure out what Alice meant. Hatter bent down and kissed Alice on the cheek and flipped his black hat up on to his head, grinning.

"Show off," Alice teased.

"You know it," Hatter said as he walked to the door.

"Come on, mom. Get on a comfortable pair of shoes and a warm jacket just in case." Carol stood slowly as the door closed with a quiet thud.

"Alice?" she asked staring at the door.

"Yes, mom?" Alice answered slipping on her casual tennis shoes.

"Who is David?" Carol asked.

"His name is David but he goes by Hatter. I met him where we're going right now. He helped me through some really rough stuff." Alice explained.

"In one hour?" Carol asked skeptically. Alice sighed.

"Mom you have to remember that for me, it was about four days. A lot can happen in four days. Especially where we're going."

"And his name is Hatter? Like the Mad Hatter? No offence but who would want to go by the name of a crazy guy in a children's story?"

"He's not crazy, mom," Alice said with a hint of anger in her voice.

"Well of course not honey. It's not like he _is _the Mad Hatter." Alice didn't know what to say. Maybe he really was the inspiration for the Mad Hatter but he was anything but crazy.

"Alice..? Okay, I'm not even going to ask why you're not answering me," Carol said, "Let's go before I think this is just some big practical joke."

"It's not a joke," Alice said opening the door.

"Okay, Alice," Carol said, "So what happened with Jack?"

"Jack is with somebody else. He was from the beginning," Alice said. It didn't hurt to think about anymore. Hatter meant more to her than Jack ever had. Hatter had saved her life and put up with her even when he knew she was wrong. That held more meaning than any rose that Jack had given her. Carol stopped halfway down the stairs.

"Alice, darling? Are you okay?" Carol asked.

"Yeah. Hatter is better for me than Jack was." Carol nodded and continued down the stairs.

Alice and Carol came around the building and entered the alley. Alice looked all around the alley remembering the chase with the white rabbit. She very much felt like the "Alice of Legend" Charlie had talked about. She remembered the dream she had when she was about nine.

Alice was out playing one summer day when she had supposedly fallen asleep next to a tree but that was what her father has said, not what she remembered. She had seen a small white rabbit hopping around. Being the curious little girl she was, Alice followed after it eventually coming to a big hole under a tree. Alice looked down the hole wondering what it was like to be a rabbit when she fell in.

Years later Carol had brought Alice to therapy for the disappearance of her father and she told the therapist about her trip down the rabbit hole and her many dreams about what she encountered. The therapist told Alice that none of that had happened and that she was dreaming about it because it reminded her of her father. The dreams stopped and she forgot about the people of the dreams.

When Alice had been in wonderland just the other day she couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity. Maybe she really was the "Alice of Legend".

Alice found the building where Hatter was sure to be waiting and rushed up the metal stairs. Hatter was standing next to the giant Looking Glass when Alice turned the corner. He looked like he had when they were in Wonderland. His hair looked like he had just woken up. He was wearing his tan hat and matching jacket with the red patterned shirt underneath. His purple pants pulled the whole outfit together.

"It's my favorite outfit," Hatter explained with a smile, "And don't worry. I washed it. Oh and I brought something for you. It's a little chilly." He held out the purple jacket that he had loaned Alice during her short stay.

"I really do love this jacket," Alice said smiling.

"When I told Jack we were coming he gave us these guys," Hatter said gesturing to either side of the Looking Glass. Two suits stood in all black looking like secret service men. "Also, he's waiting for us on the other side."

"Well let's not keep him waiting," Alice said.

"Where are we supposed to go? This is a dead end," Carol said confused.

"We go through the Looking Glass," Hatter said, "It's the portal between our worlds. You just have to step through and try to keep your lunch."

"It can be a little dizzying," Alice said from experience.

"You want me to walk through a mirror?" Carol asked skeptically.

"Not through. Into. See?" Hatter looked at one of the suits and nodded to him, "Tell his majesty we'll be there in a moment." The suit nodded and walked through the Looking Glass with grace as if he had done it a million times. Alice felt a chill go down her back when she realized he probably had.

"This is where we need to go, mom."

"Into the mirror," Carol muttered.

"Looking Glass," Hatter whispered. Alice nudged him and struggled to keep back a giggle. Carol walked toward the Looking Glass and the last suit held out his arm to escort her.

"I can handle this. It's just another door," Carol muttered to herself. She took the suit's arm and walked into the Looking Glass. Alice watched her mother walk through under better circumstances that she had and smiled.

"That went better than expected," Alice said. Hatter nodded cheerfully and handed the jacket to Alice. She shrugged it on and smiled at the memories.

"I want to try something," Hatter said. Alice looked at him questioningly. Hatter pulled Alice over to the Looking Glass and stood with his back to the reflective surface. He held Alice close to him and grinned.

"What are you up to?" she asked leaning closer to Hatter. He chuckled and pulled Alice in for a kiss. Just as their lips touched, Hatter fell back and they fell through the Looking Glass.


	2. Decisions

06:22

Falling through the Looking Glass on its own was a frightening experience. It was hard to breathe and all the colors, some of which Alice had never seen before, were disorientating. Falling with Hatter was up on a whole new level. It was impossible to breath but somehow Alice was completely at ease. She felt like she was floating rather than falling like before.

Even with closed eyes Alice could see the colors and Hatter's peaceful form. He seemed to be radiating pure love. Her heart soared and they both opened their eyes. Alice smiled and looked straight into Hatter's dark chocolate eyes.

"I love you, Alice," Hatter said. Alice felt herself fall forward and realized that their trip through the Looking Glass was over. Hatter fell back and hit the floor with a thump and Alice landed right on top of him. Hatter groaned and smiled as he saw Alice.

"Rough landing," He muttered. Alice laughed and started to sit up but Hatter pulled her back for one more quick kiss. Alice heard a cough and blushed. Hatter and Alice looked up to the source of the voice and saw Carol standing next to Jack.

"Oh… Hello, mom. Hey, Jack," Alice said as Hatter helped her to her feet. Hatter stood by her silently as she fixed her hair. Carol looked slightly dazed but not too shell shocked.

"Hello, Alice," Jack said pleasantly. He was wearing a clean red suit with a plain white shirt underneath. He wasn't wearing a crown like a traditional king but he gave off an air of being very important and powerful. He walked forward and kissed the back of Alice's hand. Beside Alice, Hatter stiffened. Alice smiled at Jack and took Hatter's hand. She could feel him relax slightly but he was still tense. Alice figured it must be from Alice's past and how she had insistently gone with Jack instead of him. A knot of guilt formed in Alice's stomach. She wished she could talk to Hatter privately for just one moment.

"Welcome back to Wonderland, Alice. So good to see you again," Jack said.

"It's nice to see you too, Jack," Alice said.

"Hatter tells me you wish to clear things up with your mother?" Jack asked.

"Yes. I wanted to tell her the truth about what happened here and we thought that the best way to do that would be to come here and show her Wonderland ourselves," Alice explained. Jack nodded.

"That makes sense," he said approvingly.

"I hoped you would think so. I also hope we didn't come here on too short notice."

"We've had a day to prepare so it wasn't too much trouble." Alice knew there would be a time delay but she didn't know it was that long. "Since you left, I've appointed a council of sorts to help me in the reconstruction of Wonderland. Some of them are here and some are on their way as we speak."

"Who have you chosen?" Alice asked curiously.

"The ones who are here now are Dormouse," Dormouse who was apparently the source of the soft snoring, stepped out from behind Jack and gave Hatter a small, tired wave, "Dodo," he nodded at Alice and glared at Hatter, "and Caterpillar." Caterpillar smiled and bowed slightly.

"I thought you were dead," Hatter said confused, "The Queen was nearly purring with word of that accomplishment."

"I'm a bit more tricky than that, Hatter," Caterpillar said, "You must give me a little credit. I was in a highly dangerous position for years, you know." Hatter nodded and Alice hoped that Caterpillar wasn't offended.

"The ones who aren't here yet are the Cheshire twins, Charlie, and Duchess," Jack added.

"No offence but aren't the twins a little eccentric?" Hatter asked.

"Yes but I'm sure they can be reasoned with to stay calm," Jack said confidently.

"So why is your whole council either here or on their way?" Alice asked.

"Because I wanted to give you a proper welcome. I owe you my crown, hypothetically of course. Also, I wanted to officially invite Hatter and yourself to join my council too."

"Both of us?" Hatter asked, suspiciously.

"Of course. It would be cruel to split you two up and both of you have unique talents and information that could be highly beneficial to the council," Jack said, "Also if you were to accept my offer, I would be able to change you into a true resident of Wonderland, Alice."

"What?" Alice asked.

"Because of the time differences between our worlds, you are currently consuming your life span at a faster rate than normal. With the Stone of Wonderland I can make it so you live at the same rate as Hatter and the rest of us."

Alice didn't know what to say. She had just been given a job offer of a lifetime. Under no other circumstances would she have the level of opportunity that she was being offered at that moment.

"Jack. I'm very interested in your offer but would it be too much to ask to talk to Hatter in private?" Alice asked politely.

"Not at all. There's and empty conference room you can use down that hall," Jack said gesturing to his right. Alice flashed Jack a quick smile and pulled Hatter off to the conference room. Hatter stared at Alice with a confused look on his face,

"What's wrong? What's all this about?" Hatter asked softly. Alice paced around the large glass table in the center of the room.

"This is too much to deal with right now. I can't make a decision like this without time to think about it!"

"Alice! Breathe!," Hatter hissed, "Just calm down." He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye, "We don't have to accept his offer. We can live a normal life in your world. You don't have to take on every single difficult decision that comes your way the exact minute that you get it." Alice took several deep breaths and closed her eyes.

"What do you want to do?" Alice asked feeling more under control.

"I want whatever you want," Hatter said.

"Now put yourself in my shoes and make the same decision," Alice said carefully. Hatter hesitated.

"If I were you… I would ask you what to do," Hatter answered truthfully.

"Exactly. I don't know what to do and were just going in a circle," Alice muttered, "look, you said from the start that you wanted to help those people in the Great Library. This might be your chance to really make a difference in their lives. We could do a lot of good."

"But what about you. Your friends. Your mother. Are you willing to leave them behind?" Hatter asked somberly.

"I think I can help with this." Alice looked and saw her mom standing at the door.

"Mom, I don't know what to do. I can't just leave you and-"

"Alice, stop," Carol said, "Your whole life you wanted to make a difference. It changed over the years from vet to doctor to teacher but the main idea stayed the same. You wanted to help the defenseless and the needy. From what I'm hearing, this is your chance. I've talked with Jack and I think you should take his offer." Alice could feel tears forming and her vision started to blur. She ran over to her mom and gave her a tight hug as the tears spilt over.

"Thank you, mom," Alice said through her tears. Hatter walked up beside Carol and Alice and cleared his throat.

"I'm not really good at these types of things so forgive me. I just want to say thank you," Hatter said fiddling with the end of his sleeve, "You've been more understanding than I could have hoped and I know that you're giving up a lot. So again, thank you. I promise that I'll make her visit you frequently."

Alice and Carol gave a little laugh and stepped back from each other.

"Thank you, mom." Carol smiled.

"Now, before I go back to my normal world without all this craziness about Dormice and Cheshire cats, I want to see my daughter and her boyfriend become a part of this great council Jack keeps talking about. He's quite the chatterbox," Carol whispered jokingly. Alice and Hatter laughed.

"Ugh. I must look like a mess," Alice groaned.

"Nonsense," Hatter said, "You look beautiful."

"Alice, dear?" Carol mock whispered, "I approve of this Hatter guy."


	3. Colors and Heights

**Hey everyone. ok so ive done some thinking and i REALLY dont like this chapter. im going to do some tinkering and re post it. thanks for your patience**

Alice and Hatter, followed by Carol, walked back out to the Looking Glass room after Alice composed herself and made sure her eyes weren't too red. The rest of the newly appointed council had arrived and were standing slightly behind Jack, looking very picturesque. The twins were standing off in the corner, not paying attention. Duchess was standing next to Jack, dressed in a very flashy looking silver dress. Charlie was dressed in his white undershirt and pants that he always had on when he wasn't wearing his full armor. He saw the three walk in and rushed over to greet them.

"Alice! I knew I would see you again! When you left I stayed in the Kingdom of the Knights for several days in perfect harmony with the psychic connections that bind this world to the next. The spirits from the Great Beyond told me not to worry for you and your harbinger would come and save us all!'

"Save?" asked Hatter curiously and then realized what Charlie said, "Harbinger? You're still calling me that?"

"Charlie, slow down. What do you mean by save?" Alice asked. Charlie gave a guilty look like he had said too much, and looked to Jack.

"I will fill you in on the specifics later, Alice, but I can tell you now that the tables have turned," Jack said stepping forward.

"What do you mean?" Alice asked.

"There are people who liked the way my mother ran things. They, and several of the previous staff members, have created their own resistance force of sorts. That's all I can say for now. I'll tell you more should you decide to join my council."

"Well, Hatter and I have spoken with my mother and we've decided that the best choice would be to stay and join," Alice said taking Hatter's hand. Jack smiled.

"I appreciate you giving up your life in the "Oyster" world to help us," Jack said smiling.

"Well I'm not really giving up much besides seeing my mom everyday. All that really matters is staying with Hatter," Alice said. Hatter squeezed her hand and grinned. Jack walked over to the Looking Glass and pulled the Stone of Wonderland out of its place. The portal rippled and settled again.

"Alice. I don't want you to waste anymore of your days so if you will allow me, I'd like to make you a citizen of Wonderland now," Jack said slipping the ring onto his ring finger. Alice nodded and stepped away from Hatter.

"I'm ready," she said taking a shaky breath. Jack nodded.

"Just relax," Jack said, "I, Jack Frederic Hart, King of Wonderland, call upon the power of the Stone of Wonderland to give Alice of Legend the lifespan and characteristics of our people." Jack's voice seemed to gain more authority and strength as he channeled the power of the ring. Alice felt her vision go dark only to spring back with more clarity than before. With the Looking Glass on front of her she could see that the previously mirror like surface had changed. She could see through it to the inside of the abandoned building where she had come to Wonderland from. She looked over at Hatter and smiled. He smiled back and a look of amazement came over his face. He walked closer and muttered something that sounded like "so beautiful".

"What?" Alice asked Hatter.

"Your eyes," he breathed. Alice wished there was a mirror around so she could see what he was talking about.

"Here, honey," Carol said pulling a compact out from her pocket and handed it to Alice. She opened it up and looked at herself in the small mirror, gasping at the icy blue eyes looking back at her; they had turned into a piercing blue.

"My God!" Alice exclaimed, "Jack, what happened?"

"I don't know. This has never happened before, Jack said, "It's been decades since the last person from your world was changed. Actually, if I remember correctly, it was your father."

"Robert?" Carol asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Dad was here, mom," Alice said. The memory of his horrible death passed through her mind.

"Was? Alice what do you mean?" Carol asked.

"He died," Alice said fighting back more tears.

"How?" Carol asked quietly.

"He was shot by a man called Walrus," Hatter said, taking over for Alice, "He's dead now too. Your husband was a very brave man." Carol nodded in disbelief.

"He always was very brave," Carol said. She wiped away a few tears and looked to Alice. "Alice! Your eyes! They're silver now!" Hatter and Jack moved to see better and saw that Carol was right. Alice looked at Hatter in disbelief.

"My eyes… change color?" she asked.

"It would appear that your transition from being an "Oyster" to a Wonderland resident has made it so your emotions make your eyes change colors," Jack said, "Does that make any sense?" Jack turned to Caterpillar.

"It certainly is unheard of but by no means is any thing impossible," Caterpillar said.

"Well there you go, Alice. You're stranger than the rest of us combined," Hatter said jokingly. Alice laughed and her eyes turned back to an ice blue.

"So will your mother be going back now or does she want to take a tour of Wonderland?" Jack asked. Alice looked to Carol and smiled.

"I would like to see a bit more of this new world that my daughter will be living in," Carol said.

"Very well. I cannot escort you myself seeing as we need to call the first full council meeting to order but I can leave you with two of my best Suits," Jack offered.

"That sounds wonderful," Carol said. Jack snapped his fingers and two suits stepped away from the revolving doors at the end of the hallway and stopped on either side of Jack.

"Stay with Carol. Keep her out of harms way and show her the sights of our wonderful city," Jack said. The two suits nodded and walked over to either side of Carol. "Oh and try not to act like mute statues either. We want to make a good impression here."

"Yes, your majesty," said the Suits.

"That's better," Jack said with a smile, "Well then we best be off."

"Have fun, mom," Alice said kissing her mother on the cheek and followed after Hatter, "and watch out for the Jabberwock." Hatter laughed as they walked through the resolving doors.

Alice and Hatter boarded with the Cheshire twins and Charlie while the rest took the other Scarab. Alice and Hatter split off from the rest of the small group as the Scarab lifted away from the building.

"I feel like a walking mood ring," Alice mused.

"A what?" Hatter asked.

"It's a cheap ring that changes color depending on your mood," Alice explained.

"Oysters need rings to tell how they feel?" Hatter asked, completely serious.

"No. It's just a novelty toy. Kids always like seeing the different colors."

"So it doesn't actually work." Hatter assumed.

"Not really no," Alice said.

"Why would someone sell something that doesn't actually work? That just sounds like a rip-off to me."

"Yeah a lot of things are like that." Hatter frowned and was silent for a moment, "Your eyes seem to work pretty well though."

"Do they? I wish I could tell," Alice said, frustrated. Hatter stepped in front of Alice and looked into her eyes.

"Let me see. Right now, there's some silver and green mixed with a smidge of orange. Now you tell me what that means," Hatter said.

"Well the silver seems to be sadness. And the green and orange must be annoyance and boredom," Alice said hesitantly.

"And why are you feeling that?" Hatter asked.

"What are you a therapist?" Alice asked jokingly.

"I want to be able to help you before you ask me to help," Hatter said softly. Alice smiled.

"Well I'm sad because I'm going to miss my home. I'm frustrated because now everyone will know exactly what I'm feeling even if I don't want them too and I'm bored because were stuck in this metal box with nothing to do until we get wherever we're going," Alice said.

"That makes sense."

Hatter leaned up against the wall and watched the Cheshire twins talk amongst themselves. Alice stood next to him and wondered what was so special about them. They looked relatively normal for twins. They had light brown hair and golden brown eyes. They were wearing the same purple and pink striped shirt. It was impossible to tell them apart.

"What's with them?" Alice whispered.

"They keep to themselves most of the time. They're notorious tricksters. You have to keep your eyes open all the time when they're around. Not all of their tricks are nice ones," Hatter muttered back. As if they could tell that Hatter and Alice were talking about them, the twins turned and looked them over. They both smiled and walked over. They stood on either side of Hatter and Alice and put an arm around their shoulders. Hatter looked nervously over at Alice.

"Hey, Hatter" said the one at Hatter's side.

"Long time, no bother," said the other.

"Yeah, I'd kinda like to keep it that way if you don't mind," Hatter said coolly.

"Nonsense," said one with mock hurt.

"Where's the fun in that?" said the other with a smile.

"So who's the pretty girl?"

"Sister?"

"In-law?"

"Girlfriend?"

"Stop that," Hatter said, clearly annoyed.

"Ah, we have a winner." The twins moved on front of Alice and leaned up against each other.

"Lucky catch, Hatter."

"Yeah, she's a looker."

"That's not very polite," Alice said understanding why Hatter didn't seem to like these two.

"Ah. Where are our manners?"

"I'm Hika-chan," said the one on the left, bowing.

"And I'm Kauru-chan," said the one on the right, also bowing.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," They said at the same time. Their voices melded together to form one. If Alice had been closing her eyes, she wouldn't have known there were two people there.

"So your eyes change color?"

"That's very interesting."

"You must be annoyed."

"Or confused."

"Your eyes are purple."

"It's a very pretty shade too."

"Would you stop that?" Alice asked struggling to keep eye contact with the two. She just wanted them to go away.

"Fine," They said at the same time.

"What happened to "Charlie and Chester"?" Hatter asked, unimpressed.

"Those names were so… what's the word, brother?" asked Hika-chan.

"Boring," Kauru-chan said.

"That's the one."

"Japanese Oyster names just convey-"

"More feeling. Unlike those old names." Hika-chan and Kauru-chan walked around Alice, becoming anonymous once more.

"You two like confusing people don't you?" Alice said with a sigh. The twins stopped and looked at Alice. Hatter looked over at her too, wondering what was going to happen.

"Hmmm. No one has ever been that upfront with us before." Said one with a frown. The twins looked at each other with mirrored expressions. They both looked back at Alice with a genuine smile.

"We like you," said the other twin.

"What's your name?"

"Why haven't we met you?"

"I'm Alice-"

"_The _Alice?"

"Alice of Legend?"

"I think so," Alice said.

"Think?" asked Hatter.

"Well yeah. It was a very long time ago and I had therapy so I'd forgotten about everything until recently," Alice explained with all eyes on her.

"And last week?

"When the casino went down?" asked the twins.

"Well that was technically us," Alice said looking to Hatter.

"He helped?" asked a twin.

"Yeah," said Alice. The twins looked at Hatter doubtingly and shrugged to each other.

"Figure that."

"Our first friend is Alice of Legend."

"You can just call me Alice," she said.

"It doesn't have quite the same ring to it."

"But, if that's what you prefer."

"Then Alice it is," they said.

"If you ever need anything."

"Just ask!" They smiled and leaned up against the wall next to Hatter.

"Can I just ask one thing right now?" Alice asked.

"Yes?" they both asked.

"Can you two be a little nicer to Hatter?" Alice asked hopefully. The twins frowned and sighed perfectly synchronized.

"All right."

"You're ruining our fun though."

"I guess we'll just have to find someone else to bother." They both broke out in a grin and made a beeline for Charlie. Alice and Hatter looked at each other, feeling as if they had both just dodged bullets.

"How did you do that?" Hatter asked. Alice was stunned.

"I have no idea. They must just like potential historical figures," she said leaning back against the wall. They watched Charlie's brow furrow as he attempted to deal with the twins.

"Shouldn't we help him?" Alice asked.

"Nah. He's survived in the forest for God knows how long. I think he can handle them," Hatter said looking amused.

"You sure?"

"Nope," Hatter said.

The scarabs landed on the other side of the city and let their passengers off at a small plain looking building. Alice stepped out onto the ledge that served as a sidewalk and looked up. There wasn't much above the building. Alice felt a chill go down her back. She slowly turned around and looked down. She gasped and froze in fear at how high up she was. She couldn't have been more that an inch away from the edge and for some reason she couldn't move. Alice's mind shut down and her vision started to go black.

"Alice? Alice, what are you doing?" Hatter asked as he came up behind her. He looked down to the ground below and realized how high up they were. Hatter barely had time to react as Alice's legs gave out.

"Shit! No!" Hatter yelled as he grabbed Alice around the waist to prevent her from falling off the edge. "Alice! Wake up!" He knew that they were both too far out to be saved from falling.

_This can't be the end. I just got her back!_

Time slowed as they tipped forward. Time had always been a friend of Hatter's. He had just whispered to Alice that he loved her when he felt a sharp tug on his jacket. He fell back onto the cement and looked up into the confused faces of the twins.

"I hope you don't think you two can fly," said Hika-chan or Kauru-chan.

"Help me get her inside," Hatter said carefully getting out from under Alice. The twins both took one of Alice's legs and helped Hatter lift her up.

"What's wrong with her?" asked the twins.

"Is she unconscious?" Hatter asked. His heart was pounding from the near death experience.

"Yes. What's wrong with her?" they asked again.

"She has a pretty bad fear of heights," Hatter said pushing the door of the building open with his back.

"Then why was she getting ready to jump?"

"She wasn't going to jump." Hatter said helping Alice to sit down on the cold marble floor. The twins looked doubtful. Hatter kneeled beside Alice and lightly shook her and called her name.

"You think that's going to work?"

"Here let Hika-chan try."

"Try what?" Hatter asked suspiciously. Hika-chan stepped forward, crouched down like a cat and slapped Alice with considerable force. Hatter swung around and threw a punch at Hika-chan only to miss. Hika-chan slid out of the way just in time and kissed like a feral cat. It was a very menacing sound. Hatter prepared for an all out brawl but stopped when Alice gasped and came to. She curled up into a ball and started to shake.

"Why are her eyes pure green?" asked Kauru-chan.

"That must be fear," said Hatter absent-mindedly.

"Hatter," Alice breathed.

"I'm right here, Alice," Hatter said pulling Alice into an awkward embrace.

"Oh, God. So high up," Alice muttered.

"It's okay. We're inside now," Hatter said soothingly. Hatter closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. He had almost lost Alice. What would he have done then?

Hatter looked up at the Cheshire twins and nodded a silent thanks to them. They smiled charmingly back.

"They're completely nuts," said one twin to the other so quietly that Hatter couldn't hear.

"Absolutely," said the other.

* * *

Okay so this didn't save right... we're all good now tho! So tell me what you think! I based the twins off of Hikaru and Kauru from Ouran High School Host Club if you were wondering. Go check it out. especially the wonderland episode! Please review!


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